Thank You to Our Volunteers at the June Pro Bono Clinics!

Thank you AABANY, PBCS, AAFE, and our volunteers who helped out at the June 5th (Queens) and June 19th (Manhattan) pro bono legal clinics!

At the Queens clinic, our volunteers met with 20 clients and discussed issues involving housing, immigration, criminal, and consumer debt matters.  At the Manhattan clinic, our volunteers met with 10 clients and discussed issues involving housing, immigration, and personal injury claims. Volunteer attorneys and interpreters patiently addressed client concerns, answered questions and connected them to lawyers through AABANY’s Legal Referral and Information Service (LRIS). 

Thank you to all our volunteers for dedicating your valuable time to our pro bono clinics, especially during the Juneteenth holiday.  Your compassion and dedication are deeply valued and truly make a positive impact on the community we serve.  By offering services in both Mandarin and Cantonese, we aim to continue to provide support for those who may face linguistic or cultural barriers when seeking access to legal services. 

Please join us in our upcoming clinics:

July 13, 2024 [Brooklyn link here], from 12:00 – 3:30pm, CPC Brooklyn Community Services, 4101 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232

July 17, 2024 [Manhattan link here], from 6:00 – 8:30pm, AAFE Community Center, 111 Norfolk Street, NY, NY 10002

August 7, 2024 [Queens link here], from 6:00 – 8:30pm, One Flushing Community Center, 133-29 41st Ave, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355

Thank You to Our June Pro Bono Clinic Volunteers!

On Saturday, June 25, 2022, AABANY’s Pro Bono & Community Service (PBCS) Committee in collaboration with Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) organized a Pro Bono Clinic in Flushing, Queens. Thank you to all our volunteers for participating! 

AABANYAAFE
Beatrice LeongGabriel Hisugan (AAFE)
Bei YangKeshari Tuisyan (AAFE intern)^
Evelyn Gong*Lilian Cheung (AAFE intern)^
Kyoung JungMaria del Carmen Cruz (AAFE)^
May WongYichun Liu (AAFE intern)
Shengyang WuZulma Vazquez (AAFE) (Spanish)^
Xue Huang
Yaoyu Liu
John Hwang
Lyubing Teng^
Meg Annamaneni^
Meng Zhang
Nicole Morikawa^
Sharmie Azurel^
Yvette Adiguzel^
^ = non-attorney volunteer

At the clinic, we met a total of 13 clients: 8 Spanish-speaking, 2 Mandarin-speaking, and 3 English speaking folks who had questions related to immigration (6 cases); housing (4 cases – 1 case with criminal context involved); unemployment insurance benefits (1 case); matrimonial (1 case); and wills/trusts/estates (1 case). 

Our volunteers were able to learn from each other and employ useful resources online to help clients look for information. This includes researching how to apply for IDNYC, a municipal identification card for all New Yorkers regardless of their immigration status, compiling information tool kits for a client’s ongoing immigration case, or referring them to other legal service providers. Volunteering attorneys and law students worked closely with AAFE’s interpreters to assist our Spanish-speaking clients. 

Volunteer Yvette Adiguzel stated, “Some clients had issues relating to a case that had already been initiated in court. When advising a client involved with a case, a useful resource to obtain New York case-related information online is eCourts NY. Anyone can use the e-courts information service for free and can search with information such as the party name, case number, type of court. eCourts NY can also be used to look up future date appearances regarding criminal and family cases, and can provide information relating to the active and disposed cases in civil courts and the Supreme Court. A tracking service called eTrack is an option available free of charge on the eCourts NY website so that you can monitor and set reminders relating to cases in civil local, supreme and family courts as well as criminal cases.” Many of the clients were grateful to the attorneys and volunteers, like Yvette, who were able to provide their expertise and provide informed legal advice. 

Thank you again to all our volunteers! 

If you would like to volunteer, our next clinic dates:

7/23/2022, 12:30pm – 3:30pm. Deadline to register 7/20/2022, 12pm.

We hope to see you at our next clinic on July 23! Please sign up!
To learn more about the Pro Bono Committee and what they do visit probono.aabany.org

AABANY’s Membership Committee Hosts Inter-Bar Association Summer Family Day

On June 4, 2022, AABANY’s Membership Committee hosted an Inter-Bar Association Summer Family Day with the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY) and the South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY). Over fifty members and their friends and families gathered at the Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center in Brooklyn to participate in spirited sports games and enjoy snacks and refreshments. 

Three full courts were available for AABANY, KALAGNY, and SABANY to utilize, as well as many seating areas on the courts, and an upstairs conference room overlooking the courts. With the AC on high, it was a great way to escape the heat and socialize with other members.

The teams kicked off the afternoon of fun with an engaging game of half-court basketball, before some members pivoted to a lively game of volleyball. In both sports, new alliances were formed, and very quickly, the games went from competitive in nature to collaborative and centered in team building for all those involved, even spectators. Following volleyball, a rallying game of dodgeball ensued, before the afternoon wrapped up with prizes and raffles. Throughout the afternoon, AABANY, KALAGNY, and SABANY members also enjoyed sandwiches, chips, and beverages while networking in the upstairs conference room featuring a full-glass wall overlooking the exciting sports games below. What a truly spectacular way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

Shoutout to the Membership Committee for organizing such a fun social event and to our sister bar associations KALAGNY and SABANY for co-sponsoring. Make sure to sign up for upcoming AABANY events at aabany.org/events.

NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan (MFJC): Core I Training, June 2019

The NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan is excited to announce their next round of CORE I trainings. The CORE training series is a learning opportunity for service providers, community leaders, and city agency staff who are working with populations directly or indirectly affected by intimate partner violence, sex trafficking, and/or elder abuse. Please follow the link here for training dates and times.

All CORE trainings listed are free and will take place at the Manhattan FJC, 80 Centre Street, 5th Floor Training Room, Manhattan, 10013. Once the CORE training is no longer listed or available to select, it has reached maximum capacity of participants. For more information, contact Indhira Castro at [email protected].